“I miss you, you stupid bastard,” she whispered to him, through him.

He wanted so much to hold her, comfort her. But he couldn’t; that was against the rules.

He just wanted her to know what really happened that night. It was all a terrible mistake, an accident. The immigration officer was just collateral damage. He had only wanted to get back to her and the kids, but things had turned out so bad. He wanted her to understand. He needed her to understand.

Yes, he had lied to her when they first meet. But there were many times, over the years, he wanted to tell her. He had longed to tell her. But somehow, he never got around to it.

As the moment faded, he sat there, watching her lay there in bed, bathed in the morning sunlight, while the words failed him. He hated how much of a coward he was for not being able to tell her.

In the end, as the summer breeze blew through the bedroom, sending her back to sleep and taking him on to eternity, all he could muster was “I’m sorry.”